Gemstone-a hard, colorful mineral with a glassy luster Ore-a rock that has some sort of metal or economically useful mineral Alloy-a mixture that consists of two or more metals Gem-a gem after being cut and polished Smelting-the process in which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements ore contains
Outline
The Uses of Minerals
Minerals are source of:
metals
gemstones
other useful materials
Gemstones
valued for:
color
luster
durability
rarity
used for jewelry/decoration/mechanical parts
Metals
sources of metals:
aluminum
iron
copper
silver
can:
stretch into wire (copper wire)
flattened into sheets (aluminum foil)
hammered/molded without breaking *iron nails, silver pendants)
used as:
tools
machinery
filament in a lightbulb
steel girder (building frames)
Other Useful Minerals
can be used as:
foods
medicines
fertilizers
building materials
talc-talcum powder
fluorite-aluminum/steel
calcite-microscopes
quartz-glass/electronic equipment/watches
kaolin-china/pottery
gypsum-wallboard/cement/stucco
corundum-polishing/cleaning
Ores
metal usually found as mineral that is a mix of that metal + other elements
geologists must find ores in order to be seperated
Prospecting
a prospector is any who searches, or prospects for ore
geologists prospect ores by observing the following:
rocks on land surfaces
plants
stream water
one technique:
set an explosions to create shock waves
echoes of the waves shows the location, size, shape of an ore deposit
Mining
Strip Mine:
remove with soil earthmoving equipment to reveal ore
Table of Contents
4.3 Mineral Resources
Vocabulary
Gemstone-a hard, colorful mineral with a glassy luster
Ore-a rock that has some sort of metal or economically useful mineral
Alloy-a mixture that consists of two or more metals
Gem-a gem after being cut and polished
Smelting-the process in which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements ore contains
Outline
The Uses of Minerals
Ores
Prospecting
Mining
Smelting
Diagrams